I am a bit confused, as I know ghunnah is in the nose but my teacher said ghunnah for ikhfa is in the mouth and also..

I am a bit confused, as I know ghunnah is in the nose but my teacher said ghunnah for ikhfa is in the mouth and also she said my ghunnah is thick for the letters other than tafkheem letters. Please explain to me briefly. Jazakallahukhairan.

Answer

Wa alaikum assalaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

The ikhfa’ requires two things, One: the mouth getting ready for the next letter and Two: the ghunnah. We position our tongue and mouth near to the letter following the ikhfa’ without touching while emitting the ghunnah from the nose. If your ikhfa’ is heavy or thick, it means you are raising up the posterior part of the tongue, and making tafkheem. The only time we should make tafkheem during an ikhfa’ is when the letter afterwards is a letter of tafkheem, meaning one of the seven letters in the group: .